Microsoft Licensing and

Management
Andra Grosu
Sr. Contract Analyst
 Software Portfolio
Operating Systems

Desktop OS Server OS

Applications

Desktop Apps Server Apps

Cloud Services

SaaS IaaS; PaaS

 Acquisition
Microsoft products can be acquired, depending on the customers needs, as follows:

• Full Package Product (FPP):

Customer: Home users or small businesses requiring software for fewer than five
computers

Description: Individual packages of licensed software purchased at retail. License sold

this way are either full licenses or upgrade licenses.

How to purchase: Licensed software can be purchased through any software retailer.
 Advantages Disadvantages

It`s a retail product and can be purchased on the sport The most expensive way to purchase a Microsoft license

It comes with a installation kit The end-user can only use the software version
acquired

The license is not attached to the hardware License proof: invoice and receipt, box, manuals, kit and
the COA sticker ( Certificate of Authenticity)

Perpetual license

The support offered is limited

FPP licensing terms and conditions are governed by the Microsoft Software License Terms
 Acquisition

• Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM):

Customer: Anyone purchasing a new computer

Description: Licensed software preinstalled on a new computer

How to purchase: Licensed software is preinstalled on a new computer. This is the

easiest and most economical way to acquire the Microsoft Windows operating system for
a new computer.
 Advantages Disadvantages

Comes installed on the hardware The licenses are attached to the PC and cannot be
moved

It is a perpetual type of license Not all Microsoft licenses are available as OEM

It cannot be moved to another PC Limited downgrade rights

It`s a cheap option to buy the license License proof: invoice and receipt, box, manuals, kit and
the COA sticker ( Certificate of Authenticity)

The System Builders offer support for the license

OEM licensing terms and conditions are governed by the Microsoft Software License Terms
 Acquisition

• Volume Licensing:

Customer: Businesses that require licenses for five or more desktop PCs

Description: Groups of licenses for five or more desktop PCs

How to purchase: Volume Licensing agreements are available through Microsoft partners
and resellers.
 Advantages Disadvantages

Extended downgrade rights There is a purchase minimum of five licenses to enter a

program

Re-imaging rights (cloning and distribution on other It can be more expensive than a OEM license
machines)

The programs benefit from volume discounts

The end-user can benefit from software assurance

License proof: are all available in Volume Licensing

Service Center (VLSC) and Microsoft Volume Licensing
Center (MVLS)
Volume licensing terms and conditions are governed by the Product Terms, Online Service Terms, Volume
Licensing Agreements
 Volume Licensing Programs

Microsoft offers this service to organizations that require multiple licenses that have
enhanced functionalities compared to the same licenses purchased through OEM or FPP

Customers wanting to enter a Microsoft Volume Licensing program can either choose from
entering with just a part of the devices owned by its organization – Transactional – or with all
company’s devices – Committed – , regardless of the organization`s size.

Customer can purchase on premises licenses (perpetual, fixed term) or online services (cloud)
with or without software assurance, depending on the customer`s business needs.
Volume Licensing Programs
Volume Licensing Programs
 Volume Licensing Programs
Before choosing and entering into a volume licensing program you should always ask yourself
the following questions in order to determine which program is best suited for your needs.

• How many licenses does my company need to purchase?

• Do I want to license all the company’s devices?
• Do I need perpetual or subscription based licenses?
• Do I need them installed within the company (On-Premise), Online (Cloud) or both?
• Do I need Software Assurance services included or as an option to be added or not at a later
stage?
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-

Open License

• Is meant for organizations of different dimensions (from 5 to 250 PCs) for which the pay-off
is made integral at the moment of the license acquisition.
• The contractual term is 2 years, during this period the prices will remain at the level of the
moment of acquisition. Licenses purchased are perpetual, but clients can also acquire
subscription based licenses
• The software assurance for this program is optional. The most important benefits provided
by it are: new version rights, step-up license availability, Microsoft Desktop Optimization
Pack (MDOP), Enhanced Edition Benefits, license mobility, Windows Virtual Desktop Access
Rights, Windows RT Companion VDA Rights etc.
• The products acquired through this program can be Online Services or On–Premise.
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-

Open Value Non-Company Wide

• Is for organizations of different dimensions (from 5 to 250 PCs) for which the pay-off is
made integral at the moment of the license acquisition.
• During the term of the contract the organization can juggle the number of PCs with 50%
from what was initially declared.
• The contractual term is 3 years, during this period the prices will remain at the level of the
moment of the initial acquisition and the payment of the licenses can be done up-front or
annually, by activating the Spread payments option. Licenses purchased are perpetual, but
the client can also acquire subscription based licenses. The program can be terminated at
any time.
• The software assurance for this program is included in the license price and contains all
software assurance benefits except for Enterprise Source Licensing Program.
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-

• The products acquired through this program can be Online Services or On–Premise
• The client gets to choose whether he wants to pay the integral sum of money (up-front) or
with spread payments: in 3 equal annual sums (annually)
• This program offers downgrade rights for purchased licenses.
• For all of these programs, at the moment of the license acquisition you will receive an
Authorization Number that will enable you to make transactions, with various Microsoft
resellers based on the same contract number.
• The activation of the licenses will be based on the installation keys which are available
through the Volume Licensing Service Center site.
• Also, license administration, the download of the installation kits and all new purchases can
be made from the VLSC site
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-
Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement
• is a dedicated license agreement and covers all Online Services sold through the Microsoft
Online Subscription Program, a subscription-based Microsoft Volume Licensing program.
The services available in this program are Windows Intune, Windows Azure Platform,
Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
• The contractual period is not defined, which means that the agreement remains in effect
even upon termination. Termination will only terminate your right to renew subscriptions
under an existing order or place new orders for additional products.
• The termination of the subscription can be done at any time during the contractual term,
however, you must pay all amounts due and owing before the termination is effective.
• Software assurance is included with this program and the products acquired through this
program can only be Online Services.
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

Select Plus
• fit for organizations with over 250 PCs for which the payment is made Up-Front or
Annually.
• The contractual term was perpetual and licensing was done based on the number of pools.
This means that your initial order qualified you for a discount level (eg. for 500 annual
points per pool you are qualified for price level A). Registered affiliates that submitted
orders also help the organization to acquire points that are piled into pool minimums in
order to achieve a higher discount level for a specific pool.
• Points that were in excess of the current price level but didn’t touch the next pricing level
were being carried over to the next year.
• The license purchase administration, the download of license installation kits and new
orders were made through the Volume Licensing and Service Center site
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

• The agreement had three components: (1) the Microsoft Business and Services Agreement
(MBSA); (2) the agreement itself; and (3) the Select Plus affiliate registration form.
• For new clients the Select Plus agreement has been retired starting with the 1st July 2015
and replaced with the Microsoft Product and Service Agreement. Starting with the 1st July
2016, existing clients with ongoing Select Plus Programs will not be able to make new
software purchases but only software assurance transactions for existing licenses, all license
purchases are being moved to the new MPSA and managed through the Microsoft Volume
Licensing Center.
• The software assurance with this program is optional and there is no possibility of acquiring
Online Services with it.
 Transactional Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

Microsoft Products and Services Agreement

• This is a relatively new program designed for large organizations, with over 250 users or
devices that is to replace the Select Plus agreement.
• In contrast to the Select Plus Program, the MPSA offers its clients the possibility to purchase
Online Services, software and Software Assurance with only one single perpetual
agreement signed.
• The clauses of the agreement represent a combination of clauses from MBSA, Select Plus
and Online Services agreements.
• The software assurance for this program is optional. Payment for transactions can be done
Upfront or Annually. The products acquired through this program can be Online Services or
On–Premise
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-

Open Value Company – Wide

• This program is designed for small companies for witch the payment is made at the
moment the license transaction is done.
• The company that chooses this program must enter it with all of its PCs. The procedure is
that the company must declare all of them.
• If the company has previously purchased OEM licenses, but these are no older than 90 days
at the program start, then for these licenses they would only need to buy the Software
Assurance.
• The term of the agreement is 3 years and it can be renewed at the end of this period for
another 3 years. The discount applied in the beginning is going to be applied throughout
the entire program term.
• Software assurance is included with this program and the client can purchase both Online
Services as well as On-Premise licenses.
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Small Organizations-

Open Value Subscription

• This program is designed for small organizations that want to enter a program with all of their
devices.
• The contractual period is 3 years with the possibility of renewing at the end. The payment can be
made upfront or with spread payments. By the end of the period the client has the possibility to buy-
out at 170% of the annual subscription fee; if there has been an increase in device numbers, the
prior year tax should also be paid. This means that the licenses acquired under this program can be
converted into FPP products and become perpetual
• Eligible devices to enter the program are all the clients devices except computers having the utility to
prevent the use of an OVS platform: servers, devices with embedded OS or devices that run process
specific applications.
• It is the only program that comes with a pricelist that the customer can use during the entire
contractual period.
• The program can be stopped at any time. After the initial expiration date it can be renewed or opted
out of.
• Software assurance is included and the products acquired through this program can be Online
Services or On –Premises.
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

Enterprise Agreement
• Companies eligible for entering this program are large accounts, with over 250 devices or
users (either one or the other, never both). Starting with the 1st of July 2016, the minimum
user/device quantity for an Enterprise Agreement will change from 250 to 500. The
products acquired can be Online Services or installed licenses on the company`s devices.
• For the existing customers with fewer than 500 users/ devices that will not meet the count
for the new minimum for their renewal, Microsoft indicates that they can extend their
current enrollments for 36 months.
• The contractual period is of 3 years but it can be extended with 1 year or 3 years after the
expiration date.
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

• The customer has the possibility to build a direct relationship with Microsoft and with its
advisers.
• The structure of the program is similar to the structure of Select Plus program. The
agreement has three components: (1) the Microsoft Business and Services Agreement
(MBSA); (2) the agreement itself; and (3) the enterprise enrollments
• Enterprise Enrollments: includes online or on-premises services, user/device or hybrid
licensing option, the possibility to move from on-premises licenses to equivalent of online
services during the program. Enterprise products may be ordered as separate products and
in groups also known as Enterprise Platform.
• Enterprise Clause Suite : is the per user option to license with the Enterprise Agreement.
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

• Server and Cloud Enrollment: requires Microsoft customers to commit to at least one of
four SCE components: core infrastructure, application platform, developer platform and
Windows Azure. In addition the customer is required to sign an Enterprise agreement and
to have 100% coverage for subscriptions and software assurance.
• The program has a minimum order requirement of 20 licenses for MSDN Platforms and
Visual Studio Enterprise in any combination.
• Subscription Enrollment: suited for organizations that are mostly interested in online
licensing rather then on-premise licensing. The most important benefit of this type of
program is that the customer can leverage the subscription counts on an annual basis
during the entire 3 year program contractual period.
 Committed Volume Licensing Programs
-Large Organizations-

• Software assurance is included in the Enterprise Agreement and customers can enjoy the
whole range of software assurance benefits
• The management of the products and services acquired is done through the VLSC site
 Software Assurance

• Is a Microsoft maintenance program that offers the customer a wide range of benefits
to go with their licenses.
• For Microsoft server product it represents 25% out of the license price and for any
Microsoft desktop product it costs 29% for each year of coverage, for Retail or OEM
licenses.
• It can be purchased together with the license or separately.
• The standard term for software assurance varies between two to three years,
depending on the program, and it can be renewed at any time after it has expired.
• Not all volume licensing programs benefit from the same level of advantages for
software assurance.
 Software Assurance general benefits

• Reduce software and services costs with rights to new software releases and cost-efficient
upgrades.
• Use consulting services to plan new, on-premises and cloud-based deployments.
• Improve operational efficiency through access to unique technologies and licensing rights.
• Increase overall user productivity with instructor-led technical training and online end-user
training.
• Maintain an available and responsive IT infrastructure with around-the-clock support.
Software Assurance Benefits Chart
Software Assurance Benefits Chart